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"Dialogue on Race" Series to Examine
Native American Culture
Posted November 6, 2002
HOLLAND -- The "Dialogue on Race" series at Hope
College will examine Native American culture through a
documentary film and audience discussion on Tuesday, Nov.
19, at 4 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The event is being presented in conjunction with
national Native American History Month, which is November.
The evening will feature the biography "On and Off
the Res' with Charlie Hill." The one-hour documentary
follows the life of Hill, who is a Native American comedian.
More broadly, the program provides a humorous and light-
hearted look at stereotypes that Native Americans still
endure.
"My purpose in doing this film was to aim directly
at counteracting the 'stoic' Indian image, which has
cemented us for centuries," wrote producer director Sandra
Osawa, who is also a Native American, in a statement of
purpose.
"My interest in humor stems directly from my
experiences of having lived in both the urban and
reservation worlds," she noted. "As a younger person, I
remember I much preferred the reservation because everyone
was always so happy and there was always a lot of joking
going on between family members. Since we don't often see
contemporary portraits of Indians, I also wanted to wrap the
issues of humor around a particular person, so that we come
to know and understand a person as well as learn a bit more
about humor and what it has to teach us."
A reception will follow the event, which is
sponsored by the college's Office of Multicultural Life.
The Maas Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 11th
Street.
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